The Umbrella Academy in: Give 'em Hell Kid
by Atlas Arrow
Summary: Sequel to "Drowning Lessons". When Kraken goes out on patrol he finds himself at the mercy of an old enemy. As if things couldn't get any worse, the rescue team finds themselves trapped by thier own inner demons. Vanya/Kraken slight Rumor/Spaceboy. R&R.
1. Chapter 1: Sunsets over Monroeville

_Late dawns and early sunsets, just like my favorite scenes  
Then holding hands and life was perfect, just like up on the screen  
And the whole time while always giving  
Counting your face among the living_

Spaceboy was still checking the readings from the Moon. Everyone could tell that part of him was anxious to get back. But in that same sense Kraken knew that he wasn't going to leave. Not now that the Umbrella Academy was starting to half-work for once in its long and complex history. Not only that but the way he looked at Rumor from time to time spoke volumes about how much he wanted to stay.

There had never been any question of Rumor or .05 leaving. Rumor had set up permanent residence there since her divorce with Patrick and losing custody of her daughter. Not to mention the fact that she was still recovering from her voice loss and adjusting to life without it. Every now and then she left for almost all of the day and did something normal .Her sibling on the other hand was a fixture.

A month ago Séance had officially checked himself out of his mental hospital. He complained that they were still billing him and he was irritated out of his mind. The strange thing was that he didn't move his things into his room. Occasionally Kraken would come across an interpretive dance magazine in the kitchen cupboards. But wherever he was keeping the rest of his junk was a mystery.

Vanya was adjusting the best she could. Faking her death and running away hadn't been the wisest move. Séance had simply remarked that she had done a pretty good job and .05 had rolled his eyes. Occasionally he wondered if the little commie had any emotions at all. Rumor still stayed a good fifty feet away from Vanya. Even thinking that Vanya had been dead didn't make her forgive her. Half the time Vanya was still trying to make up for everything she had done during her temporary insanity.

As for Kraken, as long as Vanya stayed he did too. But he was learning to tolerate his siblings in a way that would've been completely impossible when he was a child. Not to say that he could stay in the room with them for more then five minutes. However that was a complete upgrade from his old record of two minutes and fifteen seconds. And that had been with Pogo there. .05 remarked that she'd had a calming influence on him.

Two months ago he would've killed anyone who insinuated that he liked it his family. Now he'd only maim them. Perhaps the want not to force another member to fake their death had made Space act a little less egotistical. Certainly he had eased up on the team leader persona. Perhaps Séance was only in a good mood recently because he took the credit for finding Vanya. Rumor was still as obstinate and it would take nothing less then the apocalypse to change .05's attitude about anything.

Kraken slotted his knife into its side sheath. Winter was getting closer. Sunsets were earlier. Night was coming and he was going to go out as he always did. Once again he was doing things in shifts. It was an odd feeling. It was like someone had turned the clock back eight years. Of course he chose his own shifts and didn't let Spaceboy decide it for him. He was adamant on this.

His shifts were a bit spontaneous as well. In keeping with tradition his shifts were at night of course. No one knew he was taking the beat until they noticed he was missing. Space and he had gotten into several arguments about it. Space said that Kraken was being roguish and Kraken argued that Space was trying to be in charge again. The last time he had ended up going through a window. Again.

Vanya was the only one he told his real reason. He had a feeling that Spaceboy had asked her to ask him. But more likely she had been curious as well. Part of him hated the fact that things had gone back to 'normal'. Every member of the academy had passed a lot of water since they disbanded and he was angry that everyone was just going back to the way things used to be. In other words, the way things used to be when Hargreeves was still alive.

Kraken yanked open a window. Vanya obviously didn't like him running off like this, alone no less. But she had later accepted that this was what he was going to do whether she liked it or not. Maybe because she already knew all of his irritating habits was the reason that the relationship worked.

That didn't mean that they didn't still get into fights every now and then, even though they weren't anywhere near the level it was with him and Space. Mostly they were about him going off and doing something stupid, dangerous, or both. But to be perfectly fair he was thinking about easing up on his old lone wolf ways slightly since he had a girlfriend.

Overall things were good. Kraken had very little, scratch that, no, experience with relationships. But even he could see that they had a really good thing going. So far their short amount of time together had been everything he'd hoped and more. All Kraken had to do was be careful not to fuck it up somehow.

Of course it was still a little awkward having a relationship with Vanya at all. Not between the two of them of course, just from the point of view of .05. Space would have to be some sort of hypocrite, make that more then he already was, to condemn them for that. Rumor kept silent on the matter and Séance went on and on about genetic mutations. Then of course the next minute he'd be congratulating them. Stupid mood swinging drugs.

Kraken jumped out of the window and artfully closed it behind him. In truth he did miss the old days a little. He didn't know which was better, the old days where he did things by himself or the new ones where there was someone waiting for him. As he ran off into the night he saw Vanya's form walking across the lawn. He paused in his progress to look at her for a moment.

She walked with a measured pace. A good deal of her motor activity had come back and she had only occasional jerky and involuntary movements. That wasn't the only thing different about her appearance though. After trying long hair for awhile she had cut it back to its original short length. Lately she had taken to wearing a black square-necked chiffon dress. Shopping trips were rare for her since she still didn't feel comfortable going out much.

The official story was that Vanya had been a victim of the events now dubbed by the media as "The Apocalypse Suite." .05 had been in charge of the cover up and had done quite nicely. Only Inspector Lupo knew the truth and he wasn't talking. Nonetheless Vanya's changed appearance did raise a few eyebrows. Out of necessity she was learning to go out more and more. If she needed something she had to ask Rumor, which left only a fifty-fifty chance of it actually happening.

She was a few paces away from Rumor, who was talking to her ex. Suddenly she paused and looked around. Vanya sighed when she saw him, but waved her hand in goodbye. Kraken did the same before he continued off into the night. There was that argument solved. The new days were definitely better.


	2. Chapter 2: Thank you for the Venom

_You're running after something  
That you'll never kill  
If this is what you want  
_

"That's how you form an R!" Claire said triumphantly.

Rumor grinned indulgently down at her daughter. In her first grade class they had started teaching sign language to the children and Claire, in the manner of first graders, decided to teach it to her mother. Rumor was making slow progress but she was only really doing it to humor Claire. Rumor got along just fine with her notepad anyway.

A car drove up and Rumor sighed. After Patrick had gotten full custody rights she was allowed to see her daughter once a week or twice if he was feeling generous. But even the time she was given was often cut short by Patrick's 'busy schedule'. Picking Claire up at five o'clock in the winter time was particular trouble. It was cold out and Patrick was often late. Taking her notepad out of her pocket she quickly wrote;

"Looks like it's time for you to go."

Clair frowned.

"But I don't wanna!" she said, "Uncle hasn't taken me to the Moon yet!"

Smiling Rumor shook her head and wrote;

"He says maybe when you're older."

"I wanna go now!" pouted Claire.

Patrick was already out of the car and tapping his foot impatiently. His girlfriend what's-her-name was a mirror image. She was blonde. How terribly stereotypical.

"I'll talk to him," she wrote down, "Dad's waiting for you."

Claire quickly hugged her mother around the knees. Rumor patted her head affectionately before the child skipped off. Clicking the pen closed she put it in her pocket. What she would give to have her voice back. Things would be so much easier Looking up she saw to her surprise that the car was still there. What's-her-name and Claire were gone, probably in the car, but Patrick was walking towards her. Rolling her eyes she took her pen out again.

"You shouldn't put stupid ideas like the moon in her head," he cautioned, "You're filling her head with fantasies that she'll find out are empty."

"They're not empty," she wrote, "You know I could get her to go if she wanted to. My brother actually does have a base on the moon you know."

"I wouldn't bring up your family too much if I were you," said Patrick coldly, "That was what lost you custody rights in the first place, wasn't it?"

Rumor flushed in anger. She'd been written off as having a questionable background when they were fighting over Claire. If saving the world was questionable then she wondered what was unquestionable. Sitting at home doing nothing all day like he did? She wrote down her sentiments but Patrick ignored the notepad.

"Our marriage might've lasted longer if you'd been mute then too," he said thoughtfully.

She was about to write something down about his mouth being big enough for the two of them when he took the notepad out of her hands.

"You should pay more attention when people are talking to you," he snapped, but the look in his eyes showed that he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Rumor was getting ready to break his jaw when she heard a voice say;

"I think that'll do."

Out of the corner of her eye Rumor say Vanya standing behind her. Her eyes narrowed fractionally but Vanya ignored that. Instead she said to Patrick;

"If you were smart you'd give that back and go," she said.

Patrick's jaw was set and Rumor could practically see the wheels working in his head.

"You're the one without powers right? The useless one?" he said, inflating with borrowed bravery.

Vanya's polite smile was so brittle you could break your teeth on it.

"Yes," she said, "But Space was wondering what was taking Allison so long. He's in a pretty bad mood I'd say. You know the one who stopped the genocidal invasion of aliens single handedly?"

Allison saw the information click into place. Patrick threw the notepad on the ground before he walked away and got into the car. The corners of Vanya's mouth turned up slightly as he drove away. Rumor bent down and picked up her notepad. Taking her pen out she wrote furiously;

"I don't need to be rescued. Just leave me alone!"

She practically shoved the note in Vanya's face. It took a minute for Vanya to read it. When she did her pleased expression disappeared and an odd look crossed her eyes.

"Of course you don't," Vanya said coldly, "Because you were doing an excellent job back there. Excuse me for trying to help."

At this Vanya turned on her heel and walked away, back towards the house. On the way out she was momentarily stopped by Spaceboy. Vanya motioned towards Rumor with her head before continuing. Spaceboy sighed as he reached Rumor. Neither of them said anything. Finally Spaceboy said;

"She is trying. You can't blame her for getting frustrated."

Clicking her pen open she wrote;

"And why the hell do you care?"

"Believe it or not it wasn't her fault," he said slowly, trying to figure out the right words, "We can either keep our grudges or try to rebuild and move on. In the end I value keeping the family together more then revenge."

In reply Rumor wrote;

"Stoic and corny. Shut up."

"Weren't you two close when you were younger?" he asked, frustrated.

The look Rumor gave him was so laced with meaning that he immediately figured it out.

"You rumored her, didn't you?"

Rumor nodded irritably.

"I wonder why it didn't stick?" Space speculated out-loud.

Rumor didn't say anything. However she knew exactly why it ended. She had gotten greedy. She'd decided to try it on Kraken too. Rumor probably should've known that that would've ruined everything. For starters she had been dealing with Kraken of all people. Secondly she hadn't known that Vanya was down the hall, within hearing range. If she had then she might not have done it. But she'd gone up to Kraken and said;

"I heard a rumor that-"

Kraken had quickly interrupted her by saying;

"Don't try that hocus-pocus shit on me," he said, using his knife to clean his nails a little more forcefully then before.

"Hocus-pocus?"

Sweat had started to accumulate at her forehead when she heard Vanya ask that. Kraken's head had snapped up and he'd said;

"Yeah Vanya. When she tells lies they come true. Why, did she try to get you to do something?"

For a moment Vanya had just stared at him. Then she'd looked angrily at Rumor.

"She did," Vanya said, biting her lower lip, "But I'm not doing it anymore!"

Then Vanya had run down the hallway and slammed the door to her room. Kraken had glared at Rumor before running after Vanya. Ever since then she had half resented Kraken and Vanya, Kraken for telling and Vanya for getting upset.

It wasn't that she still didn't resent Vanya. Not only had she taken her voice but she'd also found someone who cared more for her then anything. Rumor had been divorced from Patrick for little more then a year and the last thing she needed to see was 'young love.' Every day Vanya and Kraken were together grated against her nerves, not that she would ever admit to being jealous.

"We all live in the same house," said Space speculatively, "You're going to have to figure out how to live with her eventually."

"We never did when we were younger," she wrote.

Space's face tightened and Rumor could tell that he was getting irritated.

"Do you remember how I said I'd help with your sign language?" he asked.

Puzzled Rumor nodded.

"Vanya's doing it now," said Space.

Furiously Rumor wrote;

"No."

"If you want to show Claire that you're paying attention then you will," replied Spaceboy.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she wrote, "You're not our leader anymore!"

Spaceboy shook his head before he turned away and walked off. Rumor would stand there fuming for another twenty minutes before she followed him.


	3. Chapter 3: I never told you what I do

_Only go so far 'til you bury them  
So deep and down we go  
Touched by angels, though I fall out of grace  
I did it all so maybe I'd live this every day_

Kraken moved quickly through the trees, pushing his way through the branches. It wasn't getting away from him. Even though all of its comrades had been killed didn't mean that it wasn't still dangerous. His knife throw had narrowly missed it earlier. It was lucky to still be functioning.

The first time he saw it he thought that it was a garbage can. He'd surmised that it was one of those new ones that some idiot had graffitied. Kraken had fond memories of busting graffitiers when he was younger. But then he'd heard shufflings like it was moving. So he'd taken a closer look. Kraken had very nearly gotten his head blown off for doing so.

He'd pursued it far out of the city limits. It made him wonder where exactly it was running to. The Terminaut kept flying as fast as possible, trying to get away from him. But Kraken was the master of pursuit. He could do this all night if he wanted to, despite the fact that he really didn't want to. Winter in the city sucked. Once he'd seen the soles of people's shoes freeze to the pavement while they waited for the bus

The Terminaut shot a laser blast at him. Kraken dropped to the ground to avoid it. He heard a tree fizzle then explode behind him. He didn't want to get injured either. Vanya would get angry again. Her stitches from the last time he came back bleeding weren't even ready to come out yet.

For some reason she thought the amount of injuries he got on the job were ridiculous. Kraken had tried to argue that he'd picked bullets out of his own shoulder before and that the recent 'injuries' as she called them were scratches. This had aggravated her to almost no end and sparked an argument about him trying not to get himself killed.

It was getting harder and harder to see. The Terminaut was artfully trying to use the branches to conceal itself. Kraken had tried to call for Space or someone else to see if they could head it off, but his communicator was broken. God, he had actually wanted backup. Things really were changing.

Kraken was snapped out of his musings as the Terminaut fired again. He needed to stop getting distracted. Night wasn't the best time for visual confirmation and that night was particularly black. He wanted the damned thing to slow down so he could kill it already. The chase was starting to piss him off.

The Terminaut paused in front of a cave. It fired at him, missed, and then ducked inside it. Oh, it wasn't getting rid of him that easily. He followed it in and the darkness swallowed him. He could only vaguely see the lights on the Terminaut far ahead of him. Kraken took another few steps before the whole area lit up in a blinding white light.

Instinctively one hand covered his eyes and the other went to the knife still in its sheath. His first thought was that it was a trap. Indeed it would seem that way. He tensed, hand on knife waiting for some sort of attack. Kraken's eye took in the whole room, even though there wasn't much to see. There were just pure white walls which extended endlessly in either direction. Kraken blinked once and the room changed to an inky blue.

Unhurriedly he blinked again. The room stayed the same color this time. Quietly he unsheathed his knife. Whoever it was was going to pay for screwing with him. They'd get a face full of sharp metal. As it had often been remarked Kraken was one to stab first and ask questions later.

So to say he was surprised when Vanya stepped out of the shadows was an understatement. Vanya was just like she'd been at the Icarus Theater. More importantly she had that same crazy look in her eyes. The smile that crossed her lips was a truly terrifying one.

"Vanya," he said slowly looking around as if that would somehow give him an answer to what was really going on.

".02," she replied brightly.

The number grated in his head like fingernails down a chalk board. The fact that it was coming from Vanya of all people made it even more disconcerting.

"What are you doing here?" he said, trying to keep his voice low.

When the bastard who was behind this showed himself things would get messy fast. He tried to think about the last time he had seen Vanya, going across the compound. No way was she fast enough to get here before him. The realization must've showed on his face. On seeing it she grinned wider and took another step towards him.

"I think you know the answer to that question."

"I really don't think I do."

"Well, if you really don't then maybe you should ask father," she shrugged.

"What-" he started to say.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves stepped out and joined his adopted daughter.

"This isn't happening," Kraken said.

"Mind you manners," Hargreeves said coolly, "And it is most certainly happening."

"Even if you are alive then what the fuck are you doing here?" snarled Kraken.

"Mind your language. I didn't raise you to be mouthy."

"You didn't raise me at all!" he snapped.

"Oh .02," Vanya said condescendingly, "It should be perfectly obvious. We're here for exactly the same reason the whole family's here."

Looking around Kraken managed to make out the forms of the rest of the Umbrella Academy. All of them wore Vanya's insane grin. Everything around him seemed like one of his old nightmares only more vivid. There was nothing in around him that was possible. He was about to say so when a memory flicked a dim card. The place where nightmares became real. His face turned pale and he whispered;

"Where am I?"

Sighing Vanya walked up to him and traced an invisible line on his face with her finger. It was a motion very reminiscent of her with one exception. Where her finger touched his skin it made a deep cut and blood poured forth. He winced at the sudden pain. Then she leaned closer until he could feel her breath on his ear and whispered;

"I think you know exactly where you are."


	4. Chapter 4: Stay Awake

_**A/N: **__I'm going to be gone for a week, so there won't be any updates for that period. So that's why I'm going to post two chapters before I go and two when I get back. After that updates will go back to their usual cheerful daily selves._

_Would you cast yourself so solitary?  
All alone you prove that I was,  
Broken down to move and alright,  
Battling the loss you live for,  
Meant the world to you._

"Has anyone seen Diego?" Vanya asked the next afternoon.

She was showing Rumor several flashcards that she had constructed for sign language. So far it had failed as a bonding activity. Both of them were rather bored, Rumor managing to shoot hostile glares at Spaceboy at every chance.

Not only was she angry but that morning Rumor gotten a letter in the mail. It was a court summons, next week to be precise. A.k.a, time for her review. Even though Patrick was allowed full custody of Claire that didn't mean that she didn't get a chance to try and win at least part-time custody every few months. In the past they hadn't gone so well and had only served to make Rumor aware of her failure as a mother.

The TV was blaring with Séance watching it avidly. His sunglasses had slipped past his nose and he was making loud snoring noises. To everyone it was obvious that he was asleep. However when Vanya had tried to turn it off he had sat up and barked;

"Hey, I'm watching that! Isn't that right Monsieur Canapé?"

After that he'd promptly fallen back asleep. Spaceboy looked up momentarily from the Moon readings at Vanya's question.

"He left last night for a shift," he said briefly before continuing his work.

"Shouldn't he be back by now then?" pressed Vanya.

.05 rolled his eyes from across the room. He turned around from playing with the puppy he had named Spot and said;

"It might've escaped your notice, but he does disappear for long periods of time every now and then. It's nothing to fret over."

"He hasn't been doing that recently," she replied with slight irritation creeping into her voice, "Even when he does go out. Considering all of the things that have happened in the past year it's entirely probable that there's a bad reason for this."

Rumor took out her notepad and wrote;

"It's no big deal. He does this."

Vanya bit the corner of her lip gently. Irritably Spaceboy said;

"Fine. I'll use his tracer to see where he is if he's not back by tomorrow. Personally I don't see the point. It really was only a matter of time before he ran off. It's not like there's anything keeping him here."

Vanya flipped up the next flashcard little more forcefully.

"And that's supposed to mean?"

Too late Spaceboy realized his mistake.

"I didn't mean…" he started slowly.

But his brain had caught up with his tongue and in truth he had no idea what he meant. Vanya shoved her chair backwards and left the room. Spaceboy winced when he heard her door slam.

.

.

.

At 4:30 the next morning Vanya sat in front of the TV. Dark circles had already started to form under her eyes. Her coffee mug had been filled and refilled several times. Even with the TV on her eyelids kept drooping. She'd drawn her knees up to her chin and wasn't even looking at the TV. It was probably only on for background noise anyhow.

Her 'mother' noted all of this when she walked up. After all, she'd been built to notice if anything was wrong with her 'children'. They had needed her less and less as they'd grown up which saddened her. So it made her feel, as she could feel, nice when they needed her.

There was probably something wrong with the fact that she had almost liked it when Vanya was bedridden. All the rest of her siblings had left her alone, except for Kraken's nighttime visits, so she had been left to care for her. Mom occupied her time with telling Vanya about her 'family', even if she had sugar coated it a bit. Make that a lot. But now Vanya needed someone to talk to and she was readily available.

"Vanya," she said gently, "You're being a little silly."

"Probably," Vanya sighed in response, "Right now I do kind of feel like a moron."

Mom took a seat down next to her and shut off the TV with the remote.

"Now Vanya," she said, "I know that it can be difficult to wait up for someone. But have you ever done this before?"

"I don't think that I need 'motherly' advice right now," Vanya snapped, "I'm getting a hell of a lot of criticism from everyone else already, thank you very much."

As always Mom ignored the mean things and continued on as if nothing had been said.

"Talking to me might help keep you awake."

Fingers drumming listlessly on her knees Vanya replied;

"In the beginning I did. Then he told me to quit it and get to sleep before I ended up looking like Séance."

"He always did have a way with words," ventured Mom.

A small chuckle came from her throat. Smiling Mom continued to say;

"Now don't you think that staying awake all this time when everything is fine is unnecessary?"

"Probably," Vanya agreed, running her hand through her hair, "But it's just…"

Vanya's voice trailed off. Mom waited for another few seconds.

"Yes?" she prompted.

"I feel so stupid for doing this," she muttered, "But right now I do **not **want to screw up what I've got going now. I know that I've already really fucked things up with my family before but I want to do things right this time. I'm so scared of hurting someone these days. Not to mention…"

"What honey?" asked Mom.

"Nothing."

"You can tell me," Mom said reassuringly, "I won't tell anyone if that's what you want."

She gave her mother a look. Vanya's fingers started to drum on her knee again.

"Fine," Vanya said at length, "Just…I haven't told anyone about this. Not even Diego."

A surprised look crossed Mom's face. Laughing at her mother's shocked look she said as she shook her head;

"No, I haven't told him this. I can't tell anyone this, especially not him. I told you I didn't want to fuck things up. They probably wouldn't react well to this. It's just…sometimes when someone puts on Bach or Mozart or something then I get this feeling, you know? It's like the insanity is creeping in. And there's nothing I can do about it except leave the room or cover my ears. Then when I look in the mirror I see these red-veined eyes sometimes and I know…I know it's still here."

Angrily Vanya pounded her chest with her fist.

"I've still got that power and that craziness. They're just locked away right now and if I tell anyone," Vanya sighed again and looked down, "Then I'm afraid I'll get locked up somewhere. And with Diego…it's just…I really…"

Once again Vanya's voice simply faded away.

"You don't want to lose him, do you?" Mom asked.

Sighing once more Vanya bowed her head.

"I can't lose him," said Vanya simply, "After everything that's happened I can't. All the things that I've wanted are finally coming true and I just can't have them snatched away from me right now. I can't let it happen. I won't. Even if I have to die to do that I won't allow it."

Neither of them said anything for awhile. Mom wasn't programmed to deal with emotions on that level.

"Well, I think that everything's better now," Mom said, trying to change the subject, "Now that he's back you can relax and go to bed."

"No he isn't," Vanya said, puzzled.

Mom furrowed her brow.

"But you were upset with yourself. I thought you meant that he'd come back."

"No he hasn't. I just felt stupid for being insecure," said Vanya tersely.

Once again Mom furrowed her brow. The Umbrella Academy communicators that they all wore served another purpose besides a telephone. Essentially if the user was wearing it and hadn't called in five hours it initiated a call. Mom looked at the clock on the wall. She used the new data to figure out when Kraken had last called. Quickly she did her calculations. The last recorded call from him had been roughly thirty five hours, thirty seven minutes, and thirty two seconds ago. She hadn't picked up any more signals since then.

There was always the possibility that he had taken it off. But her mechanical memory which went back twenty years never showed him doing this. That excluded the time that he had run away. But she made sure to factor in his actions with it since the Umbrella Academy had reformed. In her head she calculated the odds of someone killing/injuring/capturing/maiming/knocking out Diego and taking the communicator/destroying/using it in a diabolical scheme. Then she turned back to Vanya and gave an uneasy smile.

"Well, if that's the case then maybe we should be worried just a teensy bit."


	5. Chapter 5: The Jetset Life'll kill you

_Lost in the prescription  
she's got something else in mind  
Check into the Hotel Bella Muerte_

When Kraken finally came to what he saw made him want to close his eyes again. Wires were strapped to the ceiling which connected with rather sinister-looking generators. Several computer screens were on, giving the only light in the entire room. While his surroundings were dismal there was something that made him more uneasy then all of these put together. He couldn't move.

Looking around he could see that his limbs were held in place by several leather straps. Kraken could even feel one digging into the flesh of his forehead and there was something that made his head feel twice as heavy as usual. He tried to move his hand slightly but the straps had absolutely no give. The cold metal of the table in question made his back hurt.

Out of the corner of his eye he could actually see that some bastard had taken his knife away. Well he'd find a way out of this somehow or another. He always had before. Sudden footsteps alerted him to another's presence. Seeing how he hadn't been gagged he snarled;

"Just who the hell are you?"

An insane giggle cut through the darkness.

"Oh, it hurts me that you don't remember Kraken," the shadow said, "Of course you were younger then. You've got a new outfit too. I like it but I do have one suggestion. Considering the fact that you're missing an eye you should get an eye-patch. Oh, and did you pick the pirate theme or did Daddy do it for you?"

"Stop dicking around."

"Fine," the figure stepped casually into the dim lights that partially illuminated the room.

Normally the appearance of a goon that he'd shut away wouldn't cause him to check even in his current position. But this was something else entirely. A helmet obscured his captor's face. His eyes were the only visible flesh on him. All of his other appendages were covered with a thick suit that seemed fit for someone who worked at a radiation plant. The gloves he wore only enhanced this look. One thing did make him different from someone who worked at a plant. It was the mechanical object that crisscrossed over his chest ending in a circle.

Kraken wanted to swear his entire vocabulary. But he knew that the best thing to do was just say nothing. Even so he couldn't keep his jaw from tightening as his teeth clenched.

"So you do remember," Dr. Terminal said as he saw his reaction, "That does make me happy. I'd rather have gotten your ape of a brother or your lying bitch of a sister but this is good too."

Something clicked into his mind.

"Space hadn't gotten the transplant yet when you were locked away," Kraken said warily.

"I wondered when you were going to figure that out," said Terminal casually, "You might've noticed the computer monitors? While you took a nice little nap I attached a rather ingenious little devise to your head. Then I sluiced your brain for recent information. A good deal of it was boring. You should do something with your life; perhaps take interpretive dance like your brother.

There was some useful information though. Rumor's lost her voice for one. I now know what happened to .05. And that was .07's power? I always did wonder what was up with her. She might actually come in handy if I can get her crazy enough again. That would be **really** fun."

"Stay the fuck away from her," Kraken growled.

"Ah yes," Dr. Terminal said as he took what Kraken recognized as his own knife from the counter. He tapped his chin thoughtfully with it before saying, "That was one of the parts I skipped past. Most of it anyways. Once again, interesting. Not particularly useful though."

He turned back to Kraken and smiled evilly.

"Now you're going to ask me what my plan is, aren't you?"

"Not reall-"

"If you insist," sighed Dr. Terminal as he put a gag over Kraken's mouth.

Kraken tried to move away from it but his head was locked in place. Once Dr Terminal was done he said;

"After you Umbrella brats got me your father locked me away here. Then I started going slightly insane. Unbelievable, isn't it? But that's what the Hotel does. It messes with your mind and creates nightmares in the physical form. Rather clever actually. Instead of physical torture it's mental torture. You do know that's where you are, right?"

Once again Kraken's jaw clenched.

"So you do," Dr. Terminal said, delighted, "Then you also know that once you get in you can't ever leave? Roaches check in, but they don't check out."

Dr. Terminal cackled at his own joke.

"Now then, where was I? Oh, the insanity," he said as he waved the scalpel in a haphazard manner, "Then I realized the utter potential this place has. I started eating my own nightmares and converting them into the energy needed to fuel this disease. After that I sought out the other inhabitants and ate them too. They weren't particularly tasty. Once they were gone I was king of the Hotel."

Walking casually Dr. Terminal maneuvered himself so that Kraken could see his insane smile.

"In any case I realized that there wasn't actually any point if I couldn't do anything I wanted. And one of those things included world domination. So I started to fiddle with the system a bit. I can't get out but things can come in as you found out. And my delightful little Terminauts can come and go as they please.

I was waiting for some of your family to come and investigate. Your father never told you where this place was I'm willing to bet. Well, he might've told .01. I don't know. Any how I need at least one of you to attract the rest. As much as you hate each other you lot never seem to be able to abandon one of your own.

The Academy might figure out that this is the Hotel. They might have the pass card out. Even if they don't I'd relish the idea of taking my revenge. I think it'll be an easy victory considering that the nightmares will get to them first. They won't be able to withstand them. You weren't. It was so fun to watch you writhe when they got to you. Capturing you after they came was child's play.

So no matter what they're expecting they won't be able to handle the nightmares. And I'm certain that they'll come for you. I mean, you're dating one of them. "

As he was talking a Terminaut came up with a saw. Smiling happily Terminal said;

"When I programmed the Terminauts to get you I gave them all specific instructions. Do you know what I told them about you? I told them that you're the only prey which lands on your hook and hands you a knife with which to carve him," He looked at Kraken's knife intensely for a moment, "Indeed you've done just that for me. I've always had a hunch that you'd be the one to come first.

Unfortunately I can't kill you just yet. If I do then your vitals will stop and your communicator will shut down. Then they can't track you and I certainly won't be able to get the rest of them. Of course, that doesn't mean that I can't have a little fun first."

He looked at the knife intensely for a moment. Then he threw it over his shoulder. Dr. Terminal then took the saw from the Terminaut and inspected it before nodding. Kraken took a breath as deep as possible from beneath the gag and prepared himself.

"While I was going through your memories I heard that you don't like doctors. Well then today certainly isn't your lucky day. We're going to perform an open reduction on the bone. But there needs to be something wrong with it beforehand. I'll fix that. And I'm sorry but I don't have any anesthesia. Just some drug that'll keep you awake for hours no matter what. Terminaut Ceaser?"

"AFFIRMATIVE_?"

"Take off the gag," Dr. Terminaut smiled, "I do so love to hear the screams. But no hard feelings eh? Three cheers for…"

Dr. Terminal paused for a second and turned to the Terminaut.

"COMPLETION_SWEET REVENGE!"

"That's right," said Dr. Terminal as he approached.

And no matter how much Kraken prepared himself, he did scream.


	6. Chapter 6: Disenchanted

_You're just a sad song with nothing to say  
About a life long wait for a hospital stay  
And if you think that I'm wrong,  
This never meant nothing to' ya_

"I'm getting a trajectory now," Space said as he went through the computer's data the next morning.

.05 and Rumor couldn't be any less interested. Rumor had actually left to prepare for her custody hearing. Vanya however was biting her lip in impatience. So far the computer screen hadn't shown anything new. The 'loading' icon was going unbearably slow. At last a map of the city came up. The green dot that represented Kraken wasn't on it.

A few pin-pricks of blood appeared on Vanya's lip. Spaceboy frowned and hit the computer a bit. Despite living on the Moon and being kept alive by super-high speed computers, he still had a rather rough understanding/handling method with it. Finally he scrolled to an area about a mile outside of town where Kraken's dot showed up.

"See?" Spaceboy said irritably, "He's perfectly alright. Do you want to see his vitals and make sure he's still breathing? Maybe he's stopped in the last eight seconds."

Slowly Vanya loosened up on her lip. Then she looked away as if she was embarrassed. Nonetheless Spaceboy typed a few keys and his Kraken's vital signs came up.

"Oh, look here. Surprisingly everything is normal here too, wait a sec," Spaceboy said, turning back to the screen.

When he had first spoken he hadn't actually been looking at the screen. However now he realized that Kraken's vitals were about as far from normal as they could be. Kraken's heart rate had doubled but his blood pressure was exceedingly low.

"Oh my God," Vanya whispered.

"What the hell is going on?" Spaceboy said, hitting the computer once more.

"Nothing is wrong with the machine. Kraken's vital problems are probably caused by desanguination," speculated .05 as he stood on his tip-toes to see over his taller siblings.

Spot barked at his master. Absentmindedly .05 petted him as he still tried to see over his sibling's shoulder.

"In English?" asked Vanya, annoyed.

"An extreme amount of blood loss, usually fatal. Kraken has a tendency to get himself hurt," shrugged .05.

Spaceboy continued typing away. He relayed the signal through the satellites to pin-point Kraken's exact location. He scratched his head slightly as he saw the coordinates.

"Those seem terribly familiar…" he muttered to himself.

"Wonder why he hasn't radioed anyone?" Séance asked.

He had wandered over at the words 'usually fatal.'

"Has the thought crossed your mind that maybe he can't?" Vanya snapped.

"Has it crossed your mind that you would be of more use quiet?" .05 inquired.

"Stand down, both of you," said Spaceboy, "Now is there anything important about this latitude?"

All of them peered at the screen. Vanya shook her head and .05 did the same. Séance simply shrugged.

"Never heard of it," he said.

"Yes but I know that I've heard of it before. I just can't seem to be able to remember it. Might be something Dad said," frowned Spaceboy.

"Look," Vanya said, "That's all well and good but we need to go and get him."

Suddenly Spaceboy slapped one of his gigantic hands to his face. Quickly he resumed his typing with a new ferocity.

"What's wrong?" Vanya asked.

.05 looked at the new page of data that Spaceboy had pulled up. As he read his lips moved slightly. His face contorted before his eyes narrowed.

"You can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't."

"But that's physically impossible," .05 pointed out, "Hargreeves always said that no one could get in without the password."

"Excuse me?" said Vanya.

"I know what it seems like," Spaceboy said, "But that's what we're dealing with here. And it's not good."

"Excuse me."

"I should think that-"

"Excuse me!" Vanya said, a little more forcefully this time, "What's going on here?"

Both brothers turned and stared at her for a minute.

"There's no real way to say this…delicately…" started Spaceboy.

"He's in the Hotel," interrupted .05.

Nervously Vanya laughed.

"Nice one. You nearly got me," she said, her voice getting more and more desperate.

Sadly Spaceboy shook his head.

"I'm afraid that I'm not."

"But," Vanya said, clutching at straws, "You can't get in without a password."

"That was what I was trying to say," .05 pointed out, "But it appears that Kraken has found a way. Of course this isn't very lucky for him."

"That's a hell of a Houdini act," said Séance, impressed.

"Look," Vanya said, her voice calming, "If that's the case then we just go over there and get him out. Simple as that."

.05 and Spaceboy shared a look.

"Not exactly," Spaceboy said gently, "There's only one exit to the Hotel and one entrance. They're both the same thing. So if we open the Hotel then there's a way out for its 'guests'. Last I checked there were twenty five criminal masterminds locked in there. Each one of them had managed to kill thousands of people all by himself. If we go in there then there's a way out for them."

"Think about it this way," stated .05, "One death in comparison to putting the whole world in danger. Simple as that."

Not a sound could be heard. Vanya closed her eyes and asked quietly;

"So you're just going to let him die?"

"Essentially," replied .05.

Once more there was silence. By her side Vanya's fists clenched. She looked up, glaring at them with a heated ferocity.

"He's your brother!" she shouted.

Spaceboy flinched but .05 looked unaffected.

"We're all adopted," he said coolly, "As I remember Kraken was very fond of telling us so. And from what I've seen between the two of you he was quick to capitalize on that fact. Practice what you preach and all that. So tell me, do Space and Séance here know that you're sharing a room?"

Indignation flushed into Vanya's face. She drew her arm back and slapped him. Hard. .05 looked in shock at her. After the past year or so no one had dared to even raise their voice at him.

"Bastard!" she snapped at him. Then she directed her gaze at Space, "And you too! Maybe we are only adopted but it might not have occurred to you that we're all that we have!"

Turning on her heel Vanya stalked towards the front entrance.

"Where are you going?" Space asked.

"Where do you think!?" snarled Vanya as she reached the ladder to ascend.

"You don't even have any powers!" he yelled, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Pausing only for a second Vanya replied;

"Thank you for reminding me. Perhaps I had forgotten. As for what you said, if I die then at least I'll have done **something**!"

Grabbing the lowest wrung of the ladder she swung herself up on it. All they could do was stare after her. Soon she was gone from their sight. After a few seconds they heard the top hatch slam shut.

"Well," remarked Séance as he looked at his two brothers, "You blew that."


	7. Chapter 7: This is the Best Day Ever

_Well I felt I couldn't take, another day inside this place  
From silent dreams we never wake, and in this promise that we'll make  
Starless eyes for heaven's sake, but I hear you anyway_

It had taken Vanya about twenty minutes to drive to her destination. As soon as she'd gotten into the car she'd realized that she was most likely going to get herself killed. Soon afterwards she had steeled herself for that. Dying while you were trying to protect something you loved wasn't so bad.

She'd been careful to note Kraken's location on the map. It had taken her some time to find it, but now that she was there she wondered where to go. The fact that she had gotten into it at all worried her. Was the entrance that easy to get into? Did that mean leaving would be easy as well? She severely hoped so.

Vanya squinted her eyes and looked around. There was very little light which made it next to impossible to see. Every single sound was twice as loud as it normally was to her. So it was completely understandable that she jumped and screamed when a hand came down on her shoulder. Turning around she saw Space look at her with a degree of amusement.

"Wait for us next time."

.

.

.

20 minutes earlier…

"I think you should go after her," Rumor wrote on her notepad when she heard what had happened.

"To what end?" asked Space angrily as he punched the wall, "We'll just all get killed if we go."

In its wake the punch left a fist-sized imprint which Séance duly inspected.

"You don't even like Vanya!" he argued at Rumor's accusatory gaze.

Shaking her head Rumor wrote down;

"That's not the point. I just don't really approve of leaving one of our own to die. What if it was you in that situation? How would you feel to be abandoned like that?"

"It's him or the entire world," .05 pointed out.

"**Conceivably** the whole world," wrote Rumor as she glared at her brother.

"Now there's a point," Séance said as he began tracing the imprint of Space's fist.

"We've taken them all down before," wrote Rumor.

"Not all together," .05 snapped.

"We could deal. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life feeling guilty about their deaths?" Rumor wrote.

"It wouldn't be my fault if she wanted to do something stupid!" shouted Spaceboy, obviously cracking though.

"I'm all for doing something stupid," shrugged Séance.

No one said anything after that for awhile. Sighing Rumor took out her pencil and wrote a note. She walked up to Spaceboy and handed it to him. Seconds went by in silence as he read it. When he looked up his determined face made his decision clear. Finally .05 rolled his eyes and said;

"We're going to go after her, aren't we?"

.

.

.

The Present…

"Yeah and try to keep it down," called Séance, "I've heard enough screechy noises in my life already thank you very much."

In shock Vanya looked at Séance and .05 who were standing behind Space. Séance was cleaning his nails and .05 had his hands in his pockets. All outward appearances made him look like he was sulking. At least they'd brought flashlights.

"But you said-" she started.

"Apparently emotions won out," sighed .05, "But if the world ends then it's your fault."

"So how do we do this?" she asked, trying to regain some of her dignity.

"We start by you getting out," Space stated.

Vanya opened her mouth to protest but .05 stopped her.

"You have no powers and no weapons. Face it, we can't watch you **and **save Kraken at the same time. Choose; involvement or actually getting things done."

Sighing Vanya realized the truth in his words. Spaceboy jerked his thumb towards the entrance. Pulling her coat closer to her she started back as her siblings started forward.

"Now what we're going to do-" started Spaceboy but he was cut off abruptly by the tremors that shook the ground.

.

.

.

Dr. Terminal's hands were on several keys, typing away cheerfully as he commanded the floor underneath the Umbrella Academy's feet to separate. Once they had all fallen through the cracks he picked up his arsenal. It was basics really, dynamite, gunpowder, mustard gas. Nothing special.

Turning his head he looked at Kraken's knife critically. Finally he shrugged his shoulders he put it with the rest. He had a very detailed plan on how to do it all and it would be so very sweet. A Terminaut hovered up beside him.

"Has it been acquired?" he asked casually.

"AFFIRMATIVE_!" it replied.

"Excellent," he grinned, "But I'm going to have to move fast if things are going to work out. Otherwise the nightmares will kill them before I get a chance. I wonder what'll make the Umbrella brats scream? .02's were certainly interesting."

A faint groan alerted him that the man in question was waking up.

"It seems your family has come for you," he said, "And about time too."

At least the drugs had been enough to keep him awake under the pain. Terminal had been worried that they'd turn out to be defective. If that happened then there wouldn't be anything left for the rest. It would've made him sad to think that their deaths would be quick.

As it turned out his drugs had done him proud. They'd also had the bonus feature of keeping the subject alive. Even people as strong as Kraken should've died hours ago. That was all very good. It meant that he had more time later. Anticipation was half of the fun.

As he walked Dr. Terminal's shoes crunched on fragments of bone. Blood gathered on the corners of the table and spilt over the sides, making it hard to walk without tripping. He'd have a Terminaut clean it up later. Kraken bleeding to death as his shattered frame struggled to keep alive was a sight to behold. However Dr. Terminal had managed to bandage up the worst of it. Kraken's death wouldn't be quite so peaceful.

Looking up he noticed several shadows in the corner. Crazy looks and insane grins were plastered on their faces. Every single one of them was looking hungrily at his now-awakening prisoner. Smiling Dr. Terminal gestured to Kraken as he addressed his nightmares.

"He's all yours."

.

.

.

Spaceboy woke up after his fall in complete darkness. An inventory check indicated no broken bones or any serious injuries. Quickly he activated the light on his levitation belt. Even after he'd done that he still couldn't see very well.

"Séance? .05? Vanya?" he called out.

"What's wrong?" a familiar voice asked, "Nothing without your team? You always wanted to be the leader, the big one. Why? So that people would respect you. Like you even. You played it that way so that people would care what happened to you. Well you failed that. Everyone hates you."

Sir Reginald took a long drag of his cigarette as he finished speaking. Rumor stood by him looking condescendingly at Space. Insane smiles lit up their faces.

"What in the world…?" Space started, until he suddenly remembered what the Hotel was for, "No…"

"You're so afraid of being alone," Rumor sighed, "It's sad really. You went to the Moon but came back the moment you stopped getting transmissions from other people. Only problem is that no one actually wants to be with you. And why should they? You're disgusting. That's why I never really wanted to be around you."

Space struggled for words but it felt like he couldn't breathe, let alone speak.

"It's time to get used to being on your own," smiled Rumor as she and Hargreeves walked away.

.

.

.

"I don't feel guilty!" shouted .05, fear apparent in his eyes, "So fuck off!"

Several men and women stood looking at him with hatred in their eyes. They were all in various states of evening dress and decay. Pouring from their various wounds was deep red blood. The blood pooled on the floor and .05 kept as far away from it as possible. Still it inched towards him. One of the men shook their heads and sneered;

"No, you don't. But what if you could? What if you wake up one morning and found that you could feel again? Guilt would consume you, and the nightmares would never stop."

"That won't happen!" he yelled.

"How can you be sure?" the man said, "One day you will find your emotions and nothing on Earth will be able to save you then."

.

.

.

"Stop it!" Vanya screamed at herself.

The White Violin paused after the buildings caught fire and exploded.

"Aren't we happy?" the White Violin asked, "We're so special now. None of our siblings can even hope to compare to us."

"Stop it!" screamed Vanya again, "I'm not you and I never will be!"

Shaking her head the White Violin plucked a string on her violin. There was an explosion and Vanya could hear the screams of children trying to get away as their flesh melted.

"Can we remember what it felt like?" the White Violin said, leaning down and to Vanya's level, "It was so liberating. Let's do it again. It'll be so incredibly fun!"

"No…" Vanya whispered.

"What we want is revenge," the White Violin said, "That'd be great. Let's go home and kill them all. We think we'll do Kraken first. His expression will be priceless!"

"Leave him alone! Leave them all alone! I don't want any of that!" sobbed Vanya, "Just stop. Please!"

Rolling her eyes the White Violin turned away and continued her work as Vanya screamed.


	8. Chapter 8: Honey this Mirror Ain't Big

_Well I hope I'm not mistaken by the news I heard from waking  
and it's hard to say I'm shaken, by the choices that I make  
and well I find it hard to stay, with the words you say_

.05 watched the blood with trepidation. There was nowhere to go now. It was only ten inches away from his foot. Nine inches. Soon it would consume him. Eight inches. He wasn't quite sure how he knew this, but knew it he did from the depths of his soul. He was truly looking at his doom. Seven inches.

"What's up?" asked Séance as he looked at his 'little' brother.

.05 blinked. He wasn't quite sure where Séance fitted in to this particular scene. In his confusion he wasn't even paying attention to the blood.

"Can't you see all of the people? Can't you tell?" asked .05.

"Sure, but they're not there," Séance said flatly.

"Yes they are!" insisted .05 irritably.

Séance looked from side to side. Then he sniffed the air circumspectively.

"Thought so. I see your problem," he said knowledgably, "That's one powerful hallucinogen you're sniffing."

For a second .05 considered answering. He opened his mouth to speak, and then noticed where the blood was. Two inches. So .05 started screaming again. Séance put his hands over his ears.

"What did I say about screechy things?"

"The blood!" shrieked .05.

Séance followed .05's gaze.

"Oh, would you look at that," Séance shrugged.

"It's coming!"

Sighing Séance picked .05 up and started carrying him away. It took a second for .05 to realize the humiliating status of his position.

"Put. Me. Down!" he shouted, biting off the words.

"It's a drug," Séance said, ignoring .05, "I think it's fed through the vents. Believe me, I know my hallucinogens. This one wasn't so fun."

Narrowing his eyes .05 asked;

"If that's what it is why aren't **YOU **getting affected?"

"I never said it was bad," shrugged Séance, "Only problem was it didn't work after the first seven years. Didn't scare me any more. Think I built up an immunity. Pity really. No point in taking it anymore. Now do you want to go and stop it so we don't have to see Space and Vanya screaming at bits of masonry?"

Séance paused for a minute.

"Actually, that might be kind of fun."

.

.

.

Rumor swung her legs over the couch irritably. The fact that they had left her behind grated on her nerves. After the Kennedy affair she had shown that she could handle herself. Yet they still left her at the house.

"It's too dangerous if you can't use your powers," Space had said.

Love-hate relationship. No, you couldn't call it a relationship. Almost nothing else had happened since that kiss before they went to Icarus theater all those months ago. Every day he found a new way to irritate her. His egotistical attitude would nip the relationship in the bud before it even had time to begin.

In that respect she envied Vanya. Kraken and her seemed so damn comfortable with each other. Vanya, the failure of a sister, had managed to have a loving relationship. That had been something Rumor had wanted since she was eight. It made Rumor want to be sick all over the carpet with envy for that. Another thing, since she hadn't come back yet Space had most likely allowed Vanya to stay with them. Last time she checked Vanya didn't have powers either.

That thought set her teeth on edge. Coupled with the stresses of her life something snapped inside her. Two weeks from now she would have another chance to keep Claire snatched away from her. She couldn't say anything, and now she was being left behind. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Swiftly Rumor got up and snatched her coat. With long strides she reached the ladder. She'd be damned if she'd let them leave her behind.

.

.

.

The second .05 stopped the hallucinogen Vanya knew. Well, she didn't know that her brothers were responsible for it. All she knew was that the buildings melted away and she stopped killing people. She got shakily to her feet.

"Just a nightmare," she murmured comfortingly to herself, her voice hoarse from screaming, "That's all it was. You just knocked your head."

Still, it was difficult to stop the images of violence that flooded her mind. Not only was there that, it was also difficult to make out the large underground cavern she was in. Keeping her hand do the wall she attempted to guide herself around. Vanya stopped abruptly as her hand caught on something after a few minutes.

Concentrating Vanya could make out a metal door. Narrowing her eyes further she could see that the number three had been put on it, as well as a rather complicated looking lock. It was open slightly and a few beams of light bled through the crack. Deciding to be safe rather than sorry Vanya peeked through the door.

There wasn't much to look at. Wires were hung from the ceiling and connected with rather sinister-looking generators. Several computer screens were on, giving the only light in the entire room. Vanya could make out a series of long metal tables. Strapped to one of them was a figure. Her heart sank as she recognized it.

Swallowing fear Vanya opened the door quietly. She moved as fast as she could while making as little noise as possible. Her foot slipped on the floor. A gasp left her throat involuntarily as she realized that it was blood. Biting her lip to prevent further indiscretions she moved on, trying not to think about the crunching noises her feet were making.

When she finally reached him she had to stifle another gasp of terror. Slashes covered him and the entire table was coated with blood. It had moved around freely, matting his blonde hair. Bruises and lacerations distorted his entire face, making him almost unrecognizable. Bandages adorned the rest of him that were so bloody and matted that she was too scared to look at for more then five minutes.

"Diego," she whispered, afraid that she'd hurt him if she touched him.

His eye opened slightly at her voice.

"Don't worry," she said as she gingerly started to unbuckle the leather straps, her hands trembling, "I'm going to get you out. Space and the rest are here-"

Vanya was cut off abruptly when the hand she had freed flew up and grasped her throat. Forcefully she was lifted slightly off the ground, her feet barely grazing the floor. In shock she gasped for air and tried to pry his fingers off. His grip remained like iron despite her best efforts.

"Diego," she choked out as spots started to swim in front of her eyes.

"Leave…me," he said in a hoarse whisper, "the fuck alone."

Just as Vanya felt sure that she was about to die she felt his fingers pulled forcefully off. She fell to the floor, gasping desperately for air.

"Are you alright?" Space asked, his hand holding Kraken's arm back.

It was all Vanya could do to nod.

"Why don't…you all go back," snarled Kraken faintly, "to hell…where you…came from?"

"We're not nightmares," Space said coolly.

"Huh?" Vanya gasped as she got back to her feet, still trying to get air back into her lungs.

Space gave her a glance before saying;

"Father built this place as a prison. To make sure that no one could even think of escape he flooded hallucinogens through the ventilation system which create your nightmares. I myself ran into a few before some enterprising soul turned it off. Kraken's been here for two days now. I suspect he's seen more then we have, hence his rather violent reaction. It's probably near impossible for him to understand it's actually us."

Using the counters for support Vanya made it to Kraken's other side opposite Space. Tentatively she put her hand to his cheek as she tried not to aggravate his wounds. Space had to restrain his arm from trying to strangle her again. Still half-scared Vanya placed her other hand on the other side of his face.

"It's me," she whispered.

"Bullshit…" he snarled, "Don't…touch me."

She looked at Space for guidance. He simply shrugged. Gently she pressed her lips to his. Hope rose in her as she heard his breathing change. Quickly she pressed another lingering kiss to his forehead. Then she drew back slowly.

"It's me," she repeated, "I'm real. I'm here."

"Vanya…?" he managed.

"Yeah. It's going to be fine," she said softly as she placed her forehead to his, "We're going to get you out, alright?"

Seeing that it was safe Space started to unbuckle the other leather straps holding him in place. Kraken sighed and leaned into her hands, still on either side of his face.

"You're…really…here?" he asked faintly.

"Yes, I'm here," she said reassuringly.

Suddenly his eyes snapped open.

"You…have to hurry," he whispered urgently, "He's…going to come back."

"Who?" Vanya asked, puzzled.

Space let out a cry from the other side of Kraken. Someone had crept up from behind Space and plunged a syringe into his left shoulder blade. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor. The assailant looked at him for a minute, and then turned his attention to Vanya.

She tried to move away but he was too quick for her. He grabbed her hand and jerked it towards him. Sharp pains flooded throughout her arm as he plunged a second syringe into her. The last thing she heard before she passed out, besides Kraken's screams was;

"Well, that was easy."


	9. Chapter 9: How I Disappear

_And without you is how I disappear,  
And live my life alone forever now.  
And without you is how I disappear,  
And live my life alone forever now._

Rumor crept through the stone cavern. She hadn't donned her costume. There really wasn't any point. Without her powers it would make her feel like an even bigger fraud then she already was. Not to mention she had always hated spandex.

On the way up she had exceeded the speed limit by about twenty miles. She had unwisely gone in at full speed and consequences be damned. It was all stupid and completely impulsive. Already she was wondering if her anger was getting the better of her. Not only that but she had yet to even see a trace of her siblings.

All of that changed when she caught up with .05 working a rather intricate system. Séance stood near him, occasionally turning in circles. Her biological brother gave her a cursory glance before going back to his work.

"Whole family's here," he said as he snapped a wire, "Oh joy."

"What are you doing?" wrote Rumor, looking at the broken wire that littered the floor.

"I'm trying to get visuals," snapped .05, "And it's a complicated process."

"Anyone else seeing butterflies?" asked Séance as he walked unsteadily around the room.

"So you don't know where everyone else is?" Rumor wrote, ignoring Séance.

"Oh, they're all probably waist-deep in trouble," snorted .05.

.

.

.

Dr. Terminal placed headphones over Vanya's ears. At the moment Vanya didn't know this. How could she? She was unconscious and tied to a table, as was Space. Kraken on the other hand was very much awake and snarling threats at Terminal.

"Do be quiet," sighed Terminal, "I am perfecting a work of art here. Disturbances are not welcome."

"You fucking touch her," Kraken growled, "Or my brother for that matter, and you're going to find yourself in fifty fucking different pieces."

Sighing Dr. Terminal walked over to Kraken. In one swift movement he pulled Kraken's knife out of his pocket and pierced Kraken through the flesh of his arm. Kraken gritted his teeth in pain but managed not to make a sound.

"Like I said," smiled Terminal, "Not welcome."

He turned around and pressed a button on the computer. Kraken couldn't hear what was happening, but he could certainly see it. Vanya's eyes twitched, as though she were in some sort of pain. Then her eyelids pulled together tightly and she started screaming. At this Space woke up and looked over at her.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Kraken screamed at Terminal, "Vanya!"

Looking pleased with himself Terminal waved his arm dismissively.

"An experiment. I want to see if she remembers. Don't worry, it's all just a touch of Bach and Wagner. Turned up to the volume where people go deaf though."

Now she started struggling against her straps. Her eyes, however, were wide open. Red veins creeped over them and if possible she was turning even paler then she already was.

"Well stop it!" snarled Kraken.

"I know what you're trying to do," Space said levelly, "And she'll just kill you when she gets up!"

"Possibly," shrugged Dr. Terminal, "But I really want to see what happens. I want to see, or at least know, that one of your own members is killing all of you. Such fun. Who cares what happens to me as long as there's blood, blood, blood and…"

Once again he waited. Over Vanya's screams two Terminauts said;

"COMPLETION_! THE KIND OF HUMAN WRECKAGE WE LOVE!"

"Got that right," smiled Terminal.

Suddenly the screams stopped. All resistance against her bonds ended and Vanya fell limply back to the table.

"Vanya?" Kraken said, his voice getting louder and more agitated, "Vanya?"

"Vanya, Vanya, Vanya," mimicked Dr. Terminal, "By god don't you know any other words? Well, besides curse ones."

Ignoring this remark Kraken continued to look at Vanya who lay there limply. Dr. Terminal turned thoughtfully to her. He unstrapped one of her arms. Frowning he lifted it up, then dropped it abruptly.

"Oh dear," he sighed, "Looks like the sound just blew her capillaries and killed her. Not quite what I was expecting."

"BASTARD!" Kraken yelled.

"All the same, Terminaut Ceaser?"

"AFFIRMATIVE_?"

"Get the item and start cutting her bonds. Dead or alive she needs to get off the table. We need more vacant space."

"MORE ROOM FOR MORE TORTURE_!"

"Indeed. Now here's my prize," Dr. Terminal said as he walked over to Space.

An odd plinking noise started as well as a small fizzing noise. The sound was faint and it could barely be heard over Dr. Terminal's footfalls. Nonetheless it was there.

"Hello monkey boy," Dr. Terminal said.

As he approached Space the muscles in Space's jaw tightened. It was difficult for Space to focus due to the head straps, but he did manage to fix Dr. Terminal with a defiant and condescending glare.

"I'm disappointed," Dr. Terminal said, "I mean I was so blown away by how corny you were when you finally managed to catch me. 'This is the end of the line Terminal'? Seriously. But you haven't once told me that I'll never get away with it, and that I should give up and cut my losses or anything like that."

"You won't," Spaceboy said.

"Close enough," sighed Terminal, "I would like to see what happens when you cut off all those limbs of yours. I once wondered if it would hurt because it isn't technically your body. But Hargreeves wasn't an idiot. I think it would. Now I just want to see you squirm. Can I get a saw here?"

"How about something in D minor?"

Dr. Terminal whipped around. Vanya was standing with the violin procured by Dr. Terminal. All of the Terminauts had been destroyed as she had plucked at the strings earlier. Dr. Terminal only had time to smile before the note in question was produced by a smirking Vanya.

With a ripping noise the room was splattered with blood. Unidentifiable organs plastered themselves against the walls and skin floated down. The main body was still for awhile. Then the left side slid slowly down onto the floor in a heap of exposed muscles, blood, and torn ligaments. With a satisfied look Vanya stepped over him.

"Vanya?" said Kraken quietly.

She stopped by him and smiled. His heart sank as he realized the smile that wasn't hers on her face. Vanya was gone. The White Violin was back.


	10. Chapter 10: Desolation Row

_**A/N:**__ There's only one more chapter after this, and probably only one more short story in this series. I just can't seem to stay away from the Umbrella Academy._

_Now at midnight all the agents  
And superhuman crew  
Go out and round up everyone  
That knows more than they do_

"Look at all those pretty colors," said Séance as they saw Dr. Terminal's body explode on the monitors.

"She's cracked," sighed .05, "And if I put another bullet in her brain I doubt she'll be able to survive. Still, her or the world."

.05 produced a revolver from his pocket and gestured to the door. Rumor's hand came down firmly on his shoulder.

"I don't think we need to do that," she wrote.

"What do you suggest?" he said irritably.

Rumor started writing. Both of her brothers stared at her suggestion.

"You have got to be kidding," .05 said.

"It's plausible," Rumor scribbled down.

"I think it's a fantabulous suggestion," said Séance.

"You both need your heads checked," sneered .05, "And if your little plan doesn't work?"

Rumor shrugged as she wrote down her reply;

"Then shoot the bitch."

.

.

.

Softly the White Violin traced Kraken's lips with her fingers.

"Shhh," she murmured softly, "Don't worry about anything."

"Don't do this," said Kraken.

"Do what?" she asked soothingly.

"You know what."

"Oh, destroy the world?" the White Violin looked thoughtful, "Perhaps I will and perhaps I won't. But the Umbrella Academy is going first either way. No muck-ups allowed."

"Don't be unreasonable Vanya," Spaceboy said.

The White Violin turned and stared at him before bursting out into laughter.

"You're asking **me **that big brother," she giggled, "Tell me, how did Allison like you ordering her around? It must've been pretty bad. Don't think I didn't notice all those looks she shot you during sign language drills. Great job Romeo."

"You're getting off subject," Spaceboy said coolly, though through clenched teeth.

"Am not," sang the White Violin, "She was probably looking for something more then a leader, wasn't she? You just don't know when to switch off. Well figure it out or you're going to die alone. Wait, too late for that!"

Using her thumb and forefinger the White Violin plucked a string. Spaceboy's table was blown into the wall, the force of the impact knocking him unconscious.

"Stop Vanya," Kraken said, looking at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

Frowning the White Violin placed her violin and bow down on one of the counters.

"Why?" she murmured, cradling his face with her hands, "I know you never liked him."

"While sometimes I think that it would be a good idea, killing him is a step too far," said Kraken, "Now just go back to normal. You don't have to do this."

"He's not dead yet, just a little hurt. As for going back to normal you're being preposterous. Why be extra ordinary when you can be extraordinary? It's so fun. And I can't go back Not by myself anyhow. Remember how I turned last time? Willing to shoot me in the head?"

Kraken closed his eyes and grimaced. The White Violin laughed.

"I didn't think so. Now I'm going to go and finish him. Then I'm going to find everyone else and do the same. After that I'll come back, okay?"

"Why not just kill me now and get it over with?" he snarled.

Shaking her head the White Violin leaned her head down and kissed him deeply. The shock on his face was apparent when she pulled away.

"Because I love you. And do you know what? You do too. We both know that you would see the world burn before hurting me. So no, I'm giving you a chance to live. Just don't try to stop me, alright?"

It was difficult for him to choke out the words;

"I won't just sit back and watch you destroy everything. I can't and won't."

The White Violin sighed, frustrated, and ran her hand through her hair.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked irritably, "You say you hate heroes yet you always try to be one. Look at you! When everyone else turned their back on it you continued! You only own the costume, no normal clothes. That's the only way you dress…ever! As for the world, it gave us a miserable lot. Why do you even care about a world as cruel as this one?"

Kraken didn't say a word as she leaned down, her lips only inches from his ear.

"Further more we both know that you wouldn't harm me. Icarus theater taught me that much. You've wanted what we have now for so many years. Why throw it all away?" she whispered.

She pulled away, obviously satisfied.

"Did I get anything wrong?"

For awhile there was silence. Then Kraken muttered;

"No."

Smiling the White Violin said;

"Care to take back what you said earlier?"

"No," he repeated.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she yelled.

"I could say the same thing," replied Kraken, "Fact of the matter is you're not Vanya when you're like this. You said yourself that you're not normal. So it would hurt to kill something wearing her face, but that would be all."

An angry glare fixed itself in the White Violin's eyes. Furiously she picked up the Violin.

"Too bad Diego," she said, her fingers lighting on the strings, "Too bad."


	11. Chapter 11: Sister to Sleep

_What did I say?  
What did I say to put Sister to Sleep?  
And fall awake and die  
And I'm never goin' to bed_

Kraken braced himself, ready for the ripping that had happened to Dr. Terminal. Curiously enough it didn't come. After a minute or two he opened his eyes. Nothing had really changed. Her hands were still where they had been beforehand. Now though, tears poured from her eyes and her fingers trembled.

"Why can't I do this?" she seethed, "Why can't…?"

It seemed like her face was changing, like there was some sort of struggle.

"Get the fuck away," she murmured to no one in particular, "Stop whimpering!"

Her eyes flickered from insane to desperate. Back and forth they went like flashcards, fast as light.

"Vanya?" he murmured, using the hand nearest hers to touch hers.

"Just shut up!" the White Violin yelled as she clutched her forehead.

Footsteps alerted the presence of another person. The White Violin lifted her tear-stained face to see her sister, hands in pockets and staring at her.

"Now what the fuck do you want you mute bitch?" she snarled.

Unfazed Rumor took one of her hands out of her pocket. She moved it quickly around. The White Violin cocked her head in confusion. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell to the floor.

"It actually worked," .05 said, coming out of the shadows and uncocking his gun.

"Brilliant," Séance said.

"What just happened?" Kraken said, trying to get up.

"Your girlfriend went psycho," .05 said.

"Not her fault."

"No, but she did," said .05 as he started to unbuckle the restraints.

Séance wandered over and started freeing Spaceboy.

"I was actually wondering what she did," Kraken said, gesturing to Rumor with his head.

Rumor wrote down on her notepad;

"Sign language is a form of communication that can only come from me in this form. Works sort of like my voice, only I think the recipient needs to understand. Vanya was teaching me. And calm down, I just said that rebrainwashing is an unstable process and doesn't last more then ten minutes. It was a guess."

"A lucky one," snorted .05 as he released Kraken.

Unsteadily Kraken got to his feet and hobbled over to Vanya. He kneeled down and propped her up. Her eyelids fluttered once before she opened them.

"I'm…I'm sorry," she whispered, "I tried…I really did…I'm sorry…"

"You seem to be saying that a lot lately," Rumor wrote.

"Shut the hell up before I stick that pencil your eye," snarled Kraken before he turned back to Vanya, "Don't worry. You didn't kill anyone. All that'll happen is that the big ape'll have a headache when he wakes up."

"Speaking of big, a little help here?" Séance called as he tried to lift Space.

Rumor and .05 went over as Vanya and Kraken helped each other up. After much maneuvering the other three managed to get Spaceboy up.

"I give this place two stars," sniffed Séance, "the bellboys don't even help you with your luggage."

.

.

.

"The court has come to a decision," the judge said.

It was two weeks later and Rumor was looking steadfastedly at the floor. The stern looks on the judges faces as they gave Patrick full custody last time was hard enough. She didn't have to go through it again.

"Last review was short," the judge continued, "Giving the father full custody of the child. Ms. Hargreeves activities in the past are not conducive to good motherhood."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the smug smile on Patrick's face. Rumor held back the furious tears that were coming.

"However," the judge said, "It has come to our attention that recently the father had been involved in activities of a less then legal nature."

Rumor's head shot up and Patrick looked surprised.

"A source that wishes to remain anonymous has given us evidence that Patrick Mason has been involved in eight robberies in the past year. Petty thieveries, but lending nothing close to an appropriate atmosphere for a child. This will lead to a separate trial in four weeks time. For lack of a better option the custody of the child Claire Mason will be given to her mother, Allison Hargreeves. Court dismissed."

With the bang of the gavel Patrick started shouting. Numbness and confusion filled Rumor. What had just happened? It took Claire running up and hugging her to begin to snap her out of it. On the taxi ride home Claire wouldn't stop talking about going to the moon and becoming a crime fighter then marrying Prince Charming after eating an apple. Kid stuff.

As soon as they got home she showed Claire to her room. It was eight o'clock, past Claire's bed time. There wasn't enough time to figure out a room of her own. Tomorrow perhaps. Claire had gone to bed only reluctantly. Rumor had had to promise her that she could go exploring later. Also she had to get a bedtime story, even though all the books were in the living room.

.05 was sitting on the couch, stroking Spot idly when she walked in.

"Did you win?" he asked casually.

Producing her notepad Rumor wrote;

"Yes."

"Great," snorted .05, "Now we have another person in this house. I refuse to baby-sit."

"I wouldn't ask **you** to," wrote Rumor irritably.

"In any case," continued .05, "Why did you win?"

"Apparently Patrick robs places for kicks," scribbled Rumor.

"Jewelry stores," .05 specified, "His girlfriend has expensive taste."

He rolled his eyes when he saw the shocked look on Rumor's face.

"You can't honestly tell me you didn't know who left that 'anonymous tip'?"

"Space?" she wrote.

.05 rolled his eyes again.

"Not entirely false. He was the biggest helper certainly. But he didn't come up with the idea. Use your paltry brain cells and think."

Rumor looked blankly at him. Irritated more then ever, .05 jerked his head in the direction of one of the bedrooms. Rumor followed his gaze. Her mouth dropped open as she turned to .05.

"Get it now?" he asked.

"Vanya?" she wrote incredulously.

"She didn't think it was fair that you got such a bad wrap about your kid," .05 said coolly, "So she hounded us all about it. Even Séance got so fed up that he lent a hand. We all had to investigate. Nobody forced me though. I did it because I was bored."

He paused speculatively for a minute.

"She did ask for us not to tell you though," continued .05, "Something about you wouldn't like it if it came from her. Too late I suppose. Anyway, tell your brat to stay out of my room."

With that .05 picked up his puppy and left. Rumor stood there for a few minutes staring off into space. She felt pangs of guilt for the way she had been treating Vanya. Vanya had deserved it though! She had taken her voice. Of course, she had been brainwashed then. She recalled her conversation with her 'mother' several months ago. Vanya hadn't known what she was doing. It wasn't really her fault.

Her hand reached up and touched the scar on her throat. Even though she could still use her powers to some degree she was still angry about losing her voice. How long was she going to stay bitter though? Close to a year had already passed. If Vanya wanted to mend things up, then shouldn't she at least make the effort? But was she willing to try the hard way for once in her life?

Maybe one day. One day soon. Right now though, it was late and her daughter was waiting for a bedtime story. She'd be ready for it one day. Just not that night. Picking out _The Wolves in the Walls _she turned around and went back into her room.


End file.
